Snelgrove Sparks Fire to First Win; Sabres Inch Cl

Entering Thursday's game against the Chill, the Keane Fire were 0-8, yet had played many of the top teams very tough. Observers around the league suggested that it was only a matter of time before the Fire broke through and won their first game. That breakthrough finally came against the Chill.

Things didn't start well for the Fire, as they were missing many starters. In fact, they had to pick up two players, Slayer Scott Wilson and free agent Amy Scott, just to floor a complete squad. Things didn't get any better, as the Chill scored 3 of the first 4 goals of the game, including back-to-back tallies by Dave Watson

But the Fire, who have been faced with adversity all season, managed to tie the game at 4 at the end of the period.

No team could manage to open up a two-goal lead until the end of the second period, when the brother-sister combination of Ian and Amy Scott scored back-to-back goals to give the Fire a 9-7 second intermission lead.

When John Riley scored for the Chill only seconds into the final period, there were murmurs on the sidelines that the Fire were about to fold again. But the Fire, displaying superior fitness, scored the next 4 goals, en route to a 14-9 victory.

Damian Ho had 5 goals for the Fire and was the game's second star. All five players on the Fire scored at least 4 points. But it was goaltender Harvey Snelgrove who ignited his team, stymieing the Chill time after time, especially when it mattered most. The Chill even outshot the Fire 52-44, which doesn't reflect a number of goalposts hit by the Chill.

Riley led the Chill with a three goals, while Tony Joyce added two goals and two assists.

Earlier in the evening, the first-place Lite-Sabres squared off against the Sunnydale Slayers. The story of this game was Slayer goaltender Paul Chui. Chui faced a remarkable 27 shots in the first period, yet only allowed one goal. And when Slayer Jake Haddad beat Sabre goalie Chris McMaster early in the second period, the Slayers held a 2-1 lead.

It was then when Sabre Phenom Dave MacKenzie took matters into his own hands. Big Mac then scored a natural hattrick, paving the way to a 6-2 second intermission lead for the Sabres.

It was not an easy game for MacKenzie however, and he repeatedly encountered situations that would cause weaker men to cry in pain. First, an errant Slayer stick caught MacKenzie in a shin, leaving a huge purple welt. Then he took a hard shot in the side of his head from teammate Chad Griffin. To cap things off, MacKenzie slammed viciously into the Slayers net in the third period after being knocked off stride. "Red Cross" MacKenzie expects to be fully healed by next week's game.

The third period was an even one, as the Sabres cruised to a 9-5 victory. Chui stopped 52 of 61 shots, many of them highlight reel material. MacKenzie led all scorers with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Kenzie Royal was the only Slayer to score more than 1 goal.

The loss guarantees that the Slayers will face the Keane Chill in one quarterfinal matchup. The Sabres have already clinched first-place overall, and will faced the lowest remaining seed in the semi-finals. The Fire will be the visiting team in the other quarterfinal, against either the ADC Lynx or the LAN Hackers.